Shoe sewing machine



Dec. 15, 1942.

, F. R. SPEIGHT SHOE SEWING MACHINE I Filed July 13, 1940 Patented Dec.15, 1942 SHOE SEWING MACHINE Francis R, Speight, Dedham, Mass, assignorto United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemingtcn, N. J., acorporation of New Jersey Application July 13, 1940, Serial No. 345,339

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to moccasin type shoe sewing machines andmore particularly to improvements in machines of the type disclosed inU. S. Letters Patent to Ashworth No. 1,975,914 of October 9, 1934, forsewing the top piece or tongue and the side piece or vamp of a moccasintype shoe before the shoe is lasted or the sole attached.

In the machine of the patent referred to, there is provided a worksupport having angularly dlsposed surfaces extending in the direction offeed to support the meeting beveled edges of the top piece and vamp of amoccasin type shoe with the bevel faces along their edges inregistration, work penetrating and feeding instruments including aneedle and an awl arranged to pass across the apex of the angle formedby the surfaces of the work support, and a presser having surfacesdisposed at a corresponding angle for holding the meeting edges of thetop piece and vamp on the supporting surfaces of the work support whilebeing sewed. In the prior machine, the tip of the presser is shaped bycutting away a part of the apex of the angle at the meeting edge on theangularly disposed surfaces to form a fiat vertical edge extendingnearly the full length of the tip, thus allowing the presser to clampthe parts securely in place without interfering with the passage of theneedle and awl. The only portion of the tip, however, which enters fullyinto the g crease between the parts operated on is an apex at that sideof the needle and awl paths in advance of the sewing point. While apresser tip of this shape is effective in holding the parts whencomposed of leather or other material of ordi- '3 nary characteristics,when relatively thin stiff material is operated upon, there is atendency for the edges of the parts to become displaced slightly duringthe penetrating stroke of the awl or when unusually soft thick materialis operated upon, the edges of the parts will be so compressed,particularly about the paths of the needle and awl, that rupture maytake place, or at least perforation larger than necessary may be made,due to the highly compressed condition of the material.

One object of the present invention is to im prove the construction andmode of operation of a moccasin type shoe sewing machine in a manner torender it capable of operating more effectively than heretofore whileinserting a uniform- 1y tight seam in the meeting edges of a moccasintop piece and vamp, whether formed of relatively thin stiff material orof unusually thick soft material. A further object is to provide apresser r tip in a moccasin type shoe sewing machine by the use of whicha seam having accurately located stitches intersecting the registeringbevel faces inside the shoulder formed by the bevels at the edges of theparts may be inserted without special skill or ability on the part ofthe operator. A further object is to provide a machine of this typewhich will sew a secure seam with stitches drawn as tightly as desired,without tending to cut or pull through the material of the partsoperated upon.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention relates tothe provision of a work holding presser having a notched tip for amoocasin type shoe sewing machine in which a Work support is arrangedwith work engaging sur faces angularly disposed to receive the beveledged moccasin topipiece and vamp parts, with the faces of the bevels onthe parts in registration and a work penetrating instrument includingeither the needle or awl substantially at the center of the notch in thepresser tip moving in a path through the material at the edges of theparts to permit the material displaced in a direction parallel to thebevel faces by said instru ment during penetrating movement to enterinto the notch in the presser tip while holding the parts firmly againstexcessive expansion and pre venting the expanded material from being cutby the tension of the sewing thread. Preferably, the presser tip has oneor more projections arranged to compress the material firmly between thelast formed stitch and the path of the work penetrating instrumentduring each stitch setting pull of the thread. With such an arrangement,each stitch may be set at a uniform location in the work without dangerof cutting or tearing the parts even with the softest types of material.As hereinafter described, feeding movement is imparted to the work bythe awl which is actuated towards and from the needle path and in thepresent form of the invention, there are two notches in the presser tipspaced a stitch length apart so that when the awl penetrates the work,one of the notches may receive the material displaced and at the end ofthe feeding movement, after the awl is actuated along the line of feedinto alignment with the needle and the parts clamped by the presser, thesecond notch will receive the material displaced by the awl, thematerial being compressed into the same shape by the presser afterfeeding as before. As the awl withdraws from the work, the needlefollows it closely and the material 5 originally displaced by the awlcontinues to be displaced by the needle until the stitch is completed.With an awl type of feed, three projections ordinarily are provided, thecentral one of which is longer than the others in order to centralizethe gripping pressure at a point about which the moccasin parts mayswing in sewing about the curved toe portion of the moccasin seam.

Other features of the invention consist in certain devices, combinationsand arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed, theadvantages of which will be obvious from the following description takenin connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a viewin side elevation, looking from the right, of a portion of a sewingmachine embodying the features of the present invention; Fig. 2 is aview in side elevation on an enlarged scale of parts of the machineillustrated in Fig. l broken away toillustrate the shape of the presserand its operat; ing relationship to the top piece and vamp of a moccasintype shoe; Fig. 3 is a plan view, Partly broken away, of the presser andwork support of the machine, indicating the positions of the needle andawl; Fig. 4 is asectional view taken along the line t-A of Fig. 2,illustrating'the form of the bevel face on one of the parts operatedupon after the awl has penetrated the work. and before feeding movementof the awl occurs; Fig.

5 is a similar view taken after the feeding movement of the awl hasoccurred; Fig. 6 is a similar view illustrating the position and shapeof the part after the awl has withdrawn and the needle has entered thepart; and Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the presser illustrating theshape of the work engaging tip.

, The illustrated machine, in its construction and mode of operation, issimilar to that of the Ashworth patent above referred to and has acurved hook needle 2, a curved work feeding awl 4, a horn 6 having apresser secured thereto, a rotary hook 8 which carries loops of needlethread over a locking thread case contained therein, and other stitchforming and thread handling devices of the usual form. The needle andawl are secured to carriers mounted in a bracket l0 forming a part ofthe machine frame. The needle and awl carriers are actuated to cause theneedle to enter the work from above, following the awl closely as itleaves the work at the opposite side- When the aw1 withdraws from thework, it is back fed the length of a stitch and again penetrates thework. Thereafter, the aw1 and work move in the direction of feed to aposition with the awl perforation in line with the needle ready for thesucceeding work penetrating stroke of the needle.

The top piece and vamp of a moccasin type shoe upper are indicated at IIand i2 respectively and are sewed together before the vamp islasted orattached to a sole. To prepare the top piece and vamp for the sewingoperation, the inner surfaces along the edges to be sewed together arebeveled with faces at an angle approximately 30 to the outside surfacesof the parts. The bevel faces of the parts then receive a coating ofadhesive cement to hold them temporarily in registration while sewing.During the sewing operation, the seam is inserted through theregistering bevel faces of the parts, the stitches of the seam appearingonly at the outer surfaces a short distance from the extreme edges ofthe parts.

The work support, indicated at 14, carries work engaging surfacesarranged at an angle of slightly more than 60 with each other and thepresser,

indicated at l t, has at its tip corresponding angularly disposedsurfaces to clamp and hold the parts in operating relationship to theneedle and awl. The presser in the machine of the Ashworth patent has atone side of the needle and awl paths an apex fitting accurately withinthe crease at the inner surfaces of the top piece and vamp when inoperating position and is cut away opposite the needle and awl pathswith a flat edge extending in the direction of feed at a suitabledistance from the needle and awl paths to prevent interference with thepassage of the needle and awl at any time. The presser is actuatedtowards and from the work support in timed relation to the feedingmovements of the awl in order to release the work while it is being fed.When relatively stiff thin work is being sewed with a cut-away presserof this shape, the work will not be compressed substantially by thecutaway edge of the presser. As a result, the material operated uponwill not fill the space between the apex on the presser and the cut-awayedge of the tip so that during the penetrating strokes of the needle andawl, the bevel faces along the edges of the parts operated upon ,mayshift slightly with relation to each other, resulting in a faultyappearing seam. If relatively soft thick parts are operated upon, theapex on the presser may compress the material sufliciently to separatethe bevel faces of the top piece'and vamp in such a way that the pathsof the needle and awl will not intersect the bevel faceswhile in fullregistration. Consequently, the seamumay be inserted at the rear of theshoulder formed by the bevel faces or in some other way which will causethe extreme edges ,of the parts. to gap when the stitches are pulledtight.

According to the principal features. of the present invention, the tipof the presser I6 is so shaped that these results are unlikely to occurand the machine may be operated and adjusted without the exercise ofspecial skill or ability. The tip of the presser IQ of the presentmachine is formed with angularly disposed work engaging surfaces l! andi8 respectively, extending in the direction of work feed (Fig. '7) andinstead of having an apex at one side of the .needle and awl paths, theforward edge onthe presser tip is intersected by two transverse notches29 and 22 spaced apart the distance between successive stitches, thenotch 28 being. centered about the awl path when the awl is in back fedposition and the notch 22 being centered about the needle path. At thesides of the notches are a series of three projections 24, 25 and28disposed sufficiently close to the needle and awl paths to compress thematerial of the parts operated upon between the needle and aw1 paths andat opposite sides thereof. The projection 23 is so located with respectto the needle path that it compresses firmly the material between thelast formed stitch and the needle path in order to resist the pull ofthe sewing thread while each stitch is being set.. By thus compressingthe material, particularly when soft thick work is being sewed, there isless likelihood of the stitches being pulled through the material orinjuring the material in any way. The notches 20 and 22, being centeredabout the needle and aw1 paths respectively, provide space into Whichthe material of the top piece and .vamp may become displaced duringpassage of the work penetrating instruments. ,7 V

The action of the presser on the work is illustrated more clearly inFigs. 4 to 6 inclusive.

Starting with Fig. 6, the presser is indicated as being forced into thecrease formed by the top piece II and vamp l2, indenting and compressingthe parts slightly and causing a small empty space 30 to be formedwithin the notch 28 opposite the work penetrating path of the awl. Whenthe awl enters the work, the empty space 30 will be filled by the actionof the awl displacing the material of the parts operated upon, asindicated in Fig.4. After the awl has reached the end of its workpenetrating stroke, the presser is retracted, freeing the parts operatedupon for feeding movement into the position of Fig. 5. The needle thenfollows the awl as the awl withdraws from the work, the displacedmaterial being received in the notch 22 and the stitch completedin theusual way.

By shaping the tip of the presser in the manner described, a moreuniform seam may be inserted throughout the length of moccasin partshaving varying characteristics without any change'or adjustment. Tofacilitate sewing about the curved portions of a moccasin scam, thecentral projection 26 of the presser tip is made longer than the twoside projections 24 and 28, thus causing the material ofthe partsbetween the needle and awl paths to be subject to a heavier compressionthan at the opposite sides of these paths. Thus the central projectionacts as a turning point which is closer to the location where thestitches are actually inserted than with the use of an apex at the sameside of both the needle and awl paths. As a result, the work may beturned in sewing along the curved parts of a moccasin seam without anytendency to disturb the uniformity of the seam line.

In order to enable the machine to operate to advantage with work ofgreater than usual thickness, one of the Work engaging surfaces on theWork support is formed on a separate block 32 secured by means of screws34 to the support I4. Between the block 32 and the Work support H! are anumber of replaceable spacing plates 35. When the screws 34 are removed,any number or size of plates may be inserted,

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and aconstruction embodying the several features of the invention having beenspecifically described, what is claimed is:

1. In a sewing machine for uniting the bevel edged top piece and vamp ofa moccasin type shoe upper, the combination with a work support havingwork engaging surfaces angularly disposed with relation to each otherand extending in the direction of feed to support the edges of the toppiece and vamp with the faces of the bevels in registration, stitchforming devices including a needle and an awl moving in pathsintersecting the material along the edges of the top piece and vamp, anda presser, of a tip on "if the presser formed with angularly disposedwork engaging surfaces extending in the direction of work feed to enterthe crease between the top piece and vamp and provided with a forwardedge having a transverse notch centered about one of said paths toreceive the material of the top piece and vamp displaced during passageof the instrument operating in said path while holding the material ateither side of the notch compressed.

2. In a sewing machine for uniting the bevel edged top piece and vamp ofa moccasin type shoe upper, the combination with a work support havingwork engaging surfaces angularly disposed with relation to each otherand extending in the direction of feed to support the edges of the toppiece and vamp with the faces of the bevels in registration, stitchforming devices including a needle moving in a path intersecting thematerial along the edges of the top piece and vamp, and a presser, of atip on the presser formed with angularly disposed work engaging surfacesextending in the direction of work feed to enter the crease between thetop piece and vamp and provided with a forward edge having a transversenotch centered about the needle path to receive the material of the toppiece and vamp displaced during passage of the needle while holding thematerial at either side of the notch compressed.

3. In a sewing machine for uniting the bevel edged top piece and vamp ofa moccasin type shoe upper, the combination with a work support havingwork engaging surfaces angularly disposed with relation to each otherand extending in the direction of feed to support the edges of the toppiece and vamp with the faces of the bevels in registration, stitchforming devices including a needle and an awl moving in pathsintersecting the material along the edges of the top piece and vamp, anda presser, of a tip on the presser shaped to enter the crease betweenthe top piece and vamp and provided with a forward edge having atransverse notch centered about the awl path into which the material ofthe top piece and vamp displaced during passage of the awl is receivedwhile the material at either side of the notch is held compressed.

4. In a sewing machine for uniting the bevel edged top piece and vamp ofa moccasin type shoe upper, the combination with a work support havingwork engaging surfaces angularly disposed with relation to each otherand extending in the direction of feed to support the edges of the toppiece and vamp with the faces of the bevels in registration, stitchforming devices including a needle moving in a path intersecting thematerial along the edges of the top piece and vamp, and a presseractuable towards and from the work support to permit feeding movement ofthe top piece and vamp, of a tip on the presser shaped to enter thecrease between the top piece and vamp and provided with work indentingprojections along its forward edge at opposite sides of the needle pathforming a notch of sufficient depth to receive the material of the toppiece and vamp displaced during passage of the needle, one of saidprojections being sufficiently close to the needle path to compress thematerial of the parts firmly between the last formed stitch and theneedle path during each stitch setting pull of the sewing thread.

5. In a sewing machine for uniting the bevel edged top piece and vamp ofa moccasin type shoe upper, the combination with a work support havingwork engaging surfaces angularly disposed with relation to each otherand extending in the direction of feed to support the edges of the toppiece and vamp with the faces of the bevels in registration, stitchforming devices including a needle and an awl moving in a pathintersecting the material along the bevel edges of the top piece andvamp, said awl being movable towards and from the needle path to feedthe top piece and vamp a stitch length, and a presser actuable towardsand from the work support to permit feeding movement of the top pieceand vamp, of a tip on the presser shaped to enter the crease between thetop piece and vamp and provided with a forward edge having notchesspaced a stitch length apart opposite the needle and awl paths,respectively, to receive the material of the top piece and vampdisplaced during passage of the needle and awl and to compress thematerial between the needle and awl paths.

6. In a sewing machine for uniting the bevel edged top piece and vamp ofa moccasin type shoe upper, the combination with a work support havingwork engaging surfaces angularly disposed with relation to each otherand extending in the direction of feed to support the edges of the toppiece and vamp with the faces of the bevels in registration, stitchforming devices ineluding a needle and an awl moving in a pathintersecting the material along the bevel edges of the top piece andvamp, said awl being movable towards and from the needle path to feedthe top piece and vamp a stitch length, and a presser actuable towardsand from the work support to permit feeding movement of the top pieceand vamp, of a tip on the presser shaped to enter the crease between thetop piece and vamp and provided with a forward edge having threeprojections, the central one of which is longer than the others tocompress the material of the top piece and vamp between the needle andawl paths while receiving the material displaced during passage of theneedle and awl.

7. In a sewing machine for uniting the bevel edged top piece and vamp ofa moccasin type shoe upper, the combination with a work sup port havingwork engaging surfaces angularly disposed with relation to each otherand extending in the direction of feed to support the edges of the toppiece and vamp with the faces of the bevels in registration, workpenetrating instruments including a needle and an awl moving in a pathintersecting the material along the bevel edges of the top piece andvamp within the registering bevel faces of the top piece and vamp, oneof said work penetrating instruments being movable relatively to thework support to feed the top piece and vamp a stitch length, and apresser actuable towards and from the work support to permit feedingmovement of the top piece and vamp, of a tip on the presser shaped toenter the crease between the top piece and vamp and provided with aforward edge having notches opposite the positions of the workpenetrating and feeding instrument when in fed and back fed positionstoreceive the material of the top piece and vamp displaced duringpassage of the said work penetrating and feeding instrument and tocompress the material between the fed and back fed positions of saidinstrument.

FRANCIS R. SPEIGHT.

